Sheet-handling device



Jan. 29,1929.

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. .zAT oRNEYs Patented Jan. 29, 1929 uiTEn STATES PATENT FFEQE.

J'QHN S. GREENE, OF ROCHESTER, NEW YORK, ASSEGNOR TO PHOIQSTAT CQRPORA-TION, OF PROVIDENCE, RHODE IELANLD, A CDRPGRATREN 93G IRE-Z0313 ISLAND.

SHEET-HANDLING DEVICE.

Application filed February T 1e present invention relates tophotography, and more particularly to apparatus for conveying printsthrough a definite path, such as through successive baths for treatment.lit is also in the nature of an improvement upon the apparatus disclosedand claimed in my prior Patent No. 1,421,079 issued June 27, 1922, andmy prior application #111,659 filed May 25, 1926.

An object of the invention is to provide improved means for disengagingprints or sheets from conveying means and for depositing them at adefinite location after the treatment has been completed; which will.

" operate with certainty; which will insure quick and positivedisengagement of a print from the conveyor with a minimum of mutilationof the print or sheet; which will be automatic in action; which will notrequire attention or supervision by an attendant or operator; and whichwill be relatively simple, dependable, durable and inexpensive.

Other objects will be in part obvious in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly consists in the features of construction,combinations of elements, and arrangements of parts as will. beexemplified in the structure to be hereinafter described and the scopeof the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings in which is shown one of the variouspossible'embodiments of this invention,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a portion of photographic apparatusofthe commercial or copying type, to which has been attached printreleasing means constructed in accordance with the invention; the printreleasing means being shown in the poised or set position ready foroperation;

Figure 2 is a plan of the same;

Figure is a side elevation on a larger scale, of the print releasingmeans at about the instant when it become active to release a print;

Figure l is an elevation similar to Figure 8, but showing the relativepositions of the parts just after the kicker member has disengaged aprint from the impaling means Figure 5 is a sideelevation of aportion ofthe print rel asing mechanism; and

Figure 6 is an end elevation of a portion of the print releasingmechanism.

Similar reference characters refer to sim 9, 1927. Serial No. 166,878.

ilar parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings in detail, there shown a pair of parallelendless flexible members positioned between the side walls 8 and 9 andconnected together by one or more cross bars 11; the endless members andthecross bars constituting what may be referred to as an endlessconveyor. The members 10 may be of any suitable construction such asendless chains, and they may be guided through a desired path of travelby suitable pulleys or sprockets 12- so that the bars 11 may movesuccessively into and out of suitable chambers or tanks (not shown) asdisclosed in my priorpatent hereinabove referred to. After leaving thelast tank or chamber the bars are conducted over a receptacle 13, asshown in Figure 1, in which the prints are to be deposited.

Each cros bar 11 is provided with one or more spears or pins 14 forpiercing or impaling and carrying therewith a sheet or print 15. Theimpaling, members preferably extend from their respective bars in thedirection of travel of that section of the conveyor formed bythe-endless members and the cross bars, in order that any drag on the p"lists will not cause them to be pulled over the ends of the pins onwhich they are im paled.

Each section of the conveyor, after passing over the receptacle 13,passes over the pulley or sprocket 12 and returns above and in spacedrelation to the stretch of conveyor which is directly over thereceptacle 13.

A shaft 16 extends between and is rotatably supported by the side walls8 and 9 preferably above the upper stretch of conveyor. Arms 17 arerigidly mounted onthe shaft 16 adjacent the opposite ends thereof andhave portions which normally extend downwardly in parallel relationftothe endless members, and between the endless members and the walls ofthe apparatus, and portions which extend inwardly between the upper andlower stretches of the conveyor to points between the endless members.A, Uashapcd DIGTl'ilJGl is secured by one of its arms to the tree end ofeach ot the inw rdly extending portions of the arms 17. The other armsof the members 20 are connected by a bar or rod 2-1. Thedistance betweenthe U-shaped membcrsj20 is less than the distance between the endless n1inhers 1.0, so that the hm and the U- shaped members may pass betweenthe planes of the two endless members.

The arms 17, U-shaped members and connecting bar 21 together serve, andmay be hereinafter described as a kicker or striker member or device.The U-shaped members are positioned with their open ends facingforwardly, or in the direction of their travel. during a strikingoperation which is the di rection of travel of the lower stretch of theconveyor, so as to clear each cross bar 11 by embracing it when the bar21 passes between the endless members in order to strike the print orsheet carried by that particular bar 11, as shown in Figure 4.

An arm or lever 22 rigidly moimted upon and depends from the shaft 16 atone side of the apparatus, and its free end is pivotally attached by apin 23 to one end of a lever or link 24' which is in turn pivotallyattached by a pin 25 to an intermediate portion of a link or lever armThe member 26 is pivotally attached at one end by means of a pin 27 to asuitable bracket 30, and at its other end to one end of a helicaltension spring 31 which is normally under tension and which has itsother end anchored to a suitable stationary part of the apparatus aboveand at one side of the pin 27, as inclicated at 32. The links or leverarms 22 and 24 are of such length that when they are in alignment thespring 31 and link or arm 26 extend downwardly out of alignment.

When the members 22 and 24 are in alignment or in substantialalignn'lent, as shown in Figure 3, the spring 31 and the arm 26 will heoutof alignment and the tension on the spring increased. There will be aten dency for the spring and member 26 to return to a position ofalignment and when the members 22 and 24 are thrown past dead center tothe position shown in Figure 3 the pin 5 car ied by the member 24 will.be held in eontact with the arm 54 of the bell crank lever 53. The arms17 of the kicker member are so fixed upon the shaft 16 with respect tothe lever 22 that the cross bar 21 of the kickor member will be heldabove the plane of the cross bars 11 on the lower stretch of theconveyor and the upper portions of the U- shaped members will be heldbelow the lower plane of the cross bars 11 on the upper stretch of theconveyor when the pin 55 is held. against the arm 54.

An arm 34 is formed integrally with arm 22 which is rigidly mounted onshaft 16 and extends upwardly in. substantial alignment with thedownwardly extending portion of an arm 17 The member 34 is provided atits free end with a roller 35 which is adapted for contact, when incertain positions, with a plane face 36 of an arm 37 of a bell cranklever 40. The bell crank 40 is pivoted at 41 and provided with asubstantially horizontally extending arm 42 provided at its outer endwith a bearing face 43. A bracket 44 is rigid- 1y mounted on a. wall ofthe apparatus and provided at one end with an upwardly extending arm 45and at its other end with a portion which is slotted vertically for thereception of a set or abutment screw 46. The set screw 46 is adapted tobear upon. the face 43 of the arm 42 and adjust the bell crank 40 aboutits pivot. A helical tension. spring 47 is attached at its ends to theupper ends of the arm 37 of the bell crank 40 and the arm 45 of thebracket 44.

A shaft 50 is pivotally mounted in a suitable bracket 51 attached to awall of the apparatus. An arm or trigger 52 is fixed on the shaft 50 andextends upwardly into the path. of travel of the cross bars 11. in thelower stretch of the conveyor, adjacent an endless member as shown inFigures 3 and 4. A bell crank lever 53 is also rigidly mounted upon theshaft 50 for oscillation therewith and one arm 54 of the bell crank isadapted to engage with a pin 55 which is carried by the lever 24, aspointed out above. When a cross bar 11 strikes the trigger 52 the shaft56 and bell crank 53 are rocked, the arm 54 urges the pin 55 forwardlyand shifts the levers 22 and 24 from the position shown in Figure 3 pastdead center, whereupon the spring 31 will snap the levers 22 and 24further in the same direction and carry the kicker member into embracingrelation with the particular cross bar 11 which actuated the trigger.The roller 35 carried by the arm 34 is thrown forcibly against the face36 of the arm 37 and the blow is cushioned by the spring 47 which tendsto return the kicker to its poised or set position and prevent the.

U-shaped members and the rod carried thereby from striking orinterlocking with the cross rod 11. The spring 47 transmits to thereleased kicker an oscillating or vibratory motion which tends to workthe print or sheet off of the impaling means relatively more graduallyand with less danger of tearing than when the print is removed by asingle stroke of the kicker. The normal tension of the spring 31 and theposition of the an-- choring means 32 are such that in the absence ofthe spring 47 the lever 26 and spring 31 would assume a neutral positioninnnediately after the kicker was snapped into an operative position andthe kicker would not be given an oscillating movement. The posi.- tionand action of the spring 47 are such that the movement of the bar 21 ofthe kicker mechanism confined to substantially a single plane parallelto the lower stretch of the conveyor, and the major part of the path oftravel of the kicker during its oscillation lies behind the cross bar11. The oscillations are sutliciently rapid to insure a series of contacts between the bar 21 and the sheet before the sheet carrying bar canmove out of range of the kicker.

The striking movement of the kicker member will be from the rear and inthe direction of travel of the lower stretch of conveyor so as to strikeany print carried by the actuating bar, drive it forwardly of the barand thus push it off of the impaling pins. The print will thereupon dropinto the receptacle 13. The other arm of the bell crank 53 carries acounterweight 56 which returns the trigger 52, the arm 54 and the shaft50 to their normal positions immediately upon their release. An abutmentscrew 57 may be threaded through the bracket 51 for engagement with thebell crank to limit its return movement and for varying the initialposition of the bell crank, and arm 54 to adjust the locking tendency ofthe toggle levers 22 and 2d.

The shaft 16 has also rigidly mounted thereon a reset arm 60 whichdepends within the path of the cross bars 11 after the latter haveactuated the trigger 52 to release the kicker member; preferably in thepath of the bars in the upper stretch of the conveyor. The engagementand operation of the reset arm 60 by a cross bar 11 causes a movement ofthe shaft 16 in a direction to move the kicker member out of the path ofthe other cross bars 11 which are moving toward the release mechanism.The shaft 16 in moving the kicker member to its reset position alsoshifts the members 22 and 24: past dead center and places the pin incontact with the arm 54: where it is held by the action of the spring 31as shown in Figure 3. All parts are so arranged and adjusted that incase toggle levers 22 and 24: fail to lock, the pin barll pushes againstthe rear portion of the U-shaped member and the parts all yield withoutbreaking to permit the bar to pass.

Adjacent the print release mechanism,

b 'ackets 61 are mounted on the walls of the ner, such as in the priorpatent referred to,

and at a certain point in their travel the prints or sheets are engaged(as by the means of my prior patent referred to above) over the impalingpoints 14, so that the prints or sheets will be drawn through a definitepath by the conveyor, which path may include any number of developing,fixingand washbaths for the prints.

After the prints have been carried through the desired course theyapproach the position shown in Figure 1. Vi/hen the cross bar 11carryinga print. 15 is engaged by the trigger 52, the shaft 50 and thebell crank will be rocked and the latter acting upon the pin 55 willshift the toggle levers 22 and 24 through the dead center position,whereupon the spring 31 will snap the kicker member and arm 34 fromthe'position shown in Figure 3 to the position shown in Figure 4tcausing the U- shaped members to embrace the bar 11 and the roller 85 tostrike the face 36 of the arm 37. he spring 31 and arm 26 are thrown upwardly out of alignment and they tend to seek a position of alignment asa result of which the kicker mechanism is given an oscillating orvibratory movement which is maintained by the action of thespring 4;?which throws the arm 34 and the connected kicker mechanism backward inattempting to resume its normal position. The length of time for whichthe vibratory motion of the kicker mechanism continues, and the forceand rapidity of the motion, and the length of the successive strokes ofthe bar 21 may be variedto some extent by altering the relative lengthsof the various arms or levers and the strength and tension of the springmembers, as will be obvious to one skilled in the art. The bar 21strikes the print carried by the bar 11 and carries it forward on theimpaling pins. The mechanism may be so regulated that the print will, inmost instances, be removed When struck once by the bar 21; however suchregulation is not, as a rule, desirable as the paper or other materialcomprising the sheet or print is wet and soggy andtends to cling closelyto the impaling pins and if the bar 21 is permitted to travel too farforwardly of the bar 11 the pushing action of the said bar 21 will beconverted to a pulling action with a consequent tearing of that portionof the sheet which extends above the impaling pins or mutilation of thesheet by folding it about the bar 21. The bar 21 may also swing into thepath of travel of the bar 11 and become interlocked with the said bar 11and the pins carried thereby with consequent damage to the apparatus.

The desirable length of original kicker stroke permits the bar 21 todislodge the print from its original set position and move it forwardlyon the impaling pins, the follmving strokes are less violent and the bar21 grad ually urges the print off of the impaling pins in such mannerthat there is no tearing or mutilating action. The provision of positivemeans'for causing ti 0 bar 21 to strike each print a number of timeseliminates any necessity for the removal of the print by means of asingle stroke and permits such regulation of the kicker stroke that anypossibility of an interlocking of the bars 11 and 21 and pins 14 isavoided.

"During continued movement of the con- ,veyor the cross bar 11 willengage the arm and reset the kicker mechanism in the manner explained.The action is thus automatic and the print or sheet is disengaged bypushing it off the impaling means in such a mannor there is no tearingor mutilation. The receptacle 13 may, if desired, contain a final fixingor Washing liquid or it may constitute merely a receiving basket.

From the foregoing it Will be seen that there is herein provided anapparatus Which embodies the features of this invention and achieves theobjects thereoi including many practical advantages. A sheet handlingdevice is provided which is dependable in action and by means of whichthe sheets may be re moved from impaling means automatically and Withoutmutilation.

As many possible embodiments might be made oi? the above invention, andas many changes might be made in the embodiment above set forth, it isto be understood that all matter hereinbefore set forth, or shown in theaccompanying drawings, is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in alimiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device oi the class described in combination, means forconveying a sheet, means for imparting a positive forward movement tosaid sheet for removing the sheet from said conveying means, and meansfor guiding said conveying means to and confining it Within theeffective range of said sheet removing means to prevent displacement ofsaid conveying means by said removing means.

2. In a device oi? the class described in combination, means forconveying a sheet, means for removing the sheet from said conveyingmeans, and means for imparting an oscillatory movement to said sheetremoving means.

3. In a device of the class described in combination, means forconveying a sheet, and means for intermittently engaging With said sheetto remove it from said conveying means.

4. In a device oi the class described in combination, means forconveying a sheet, means for removing said sheet from said conveyingmeans, and spring means for oscillating said sheet removing means.

5. In a device out the class described in combination, means forconveying a sheet, means for removing said sheet from said con veyingmeans, means operated by said conveying means for actuating saidren'ioving means, and means for preventing dis ')lacement of saidconveying means by said actuating means. 1

('3. In a device oi the class described, in combination, means forconveying a sheet, means for removing said sheet from said conveyingmeans, means for actuating said removing means, means operated by saidconveying means for resetting said removing means, and means forpreventing displacement of said conveying means by said resetting means.

7. In av device of the class described, in combination, means forconveying a sheet, means for removing said sheet from said conveyingmeans, means operated by said co'nveying means for actuating saidremoving means, means for preventing displacement of said conveyingmeans by said actuating means, means operated by said conveying loansfor resetting said sheet removing means, and means for preventingdisplacement of said conveying means by said resetting means. i

8. In a device of the class described, a conveyor having a bar providedwith impaling means for carrying a sheet, means actuated. by said. barfor releasing said sheet, and means tor oscillating saic. sheetreleasing means.

9. In a device of the classdescribed, a conveyor having a bar providedwith impaling means for carrying a sheet, means actuated by said bar forreleasing said sheet, means for oscillating said sheet releasing means,and. means actuated by said bar for resetting said sheet releasingmeans. I

10. In a device of the class described,- a

kicker device normally held in an inoperative position, means forreleasing said kicker device and means for oscillating said kickerdevice. 11. In a device of the class described, a kicker device normallyset in an inoperative position, means for releasing said kicker device,means for oscillating said kicker device, .and means for resettin saidkicker device.

12. In a device of the class -described, in combination, means forconveying a sheet,

spring operated means for engaging said sheet to remove it from saidconveying means, and spring operated means for oscillating said sheetremoving means.

13. In a device of the class described, a conveyor provided With meansfor impaling and carrying a sheet, means actuated by said conveyor forremoving said sheet from said impaling means, and means for oscillatingsaid sheet removing means.

14. In a device of the class described, in combination, means forconveying a sheet, means for removing said sheet from said conveyingmeans, means for confining said conveying means within theefiectiverange of said removing means, and means for oscillating saidremoving means.

15. In a device of -he class described, in combination, means forconveying a sheet, guide means for said conveying means, means adjacentsaid guide means for removing said sheet from said conveying means,means for moving said removing means to an operative position, and meansfor oscillating said removing means.

16. In a: device of the class described, in combination, means forconveying a sheet, means for removing said sheet normally held in aninoperative position, means "for moving said removing means to anoperative position, and means for oscillating and maintaining saidremoving means in an effective position.

17. In a device of the class described, in combination, a conveyorprovided With sheet impaling means extending substantially in thedirection of travel of said conveyor, oscillating sheet removing meansadapted for contact with the rear face of a sheet carried by saidimpaling means, and means for confining the movement of the sheetcontacting portion of said removing means to substantially a singleplane.

18. In a device of the class described, a conveyor provided with meansfor carrying a sheet, sheet removing means pivoted adjacent saidconveyor and having a member adapted for contact With a sheet carried bysaid conveyor; said removing means being normally held in an inoperativeposition, resilient means for moving said member into contact With saidsheet, and resilient means for limiting the movement of said member andfor causing said member to make a series of contacts With said sheet.

19. In a device of the class described the combination With sheetreleasing means, of means for oscillating said releasing means, saidmeans serving additionally to confine said releasing means Within theeffective range of the sheet to be released.

20. In a device of the class described, in combination, means forconveying a sheet in suspension, means for striking said sheet belOW apoint of suspension to release it from said conveying means, resilientmeans for actuating said striking means, and means for oscillating saidstriking means to provide.

a series of effective striking operations.

JOHN S. GREENE.

